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If you don't know the tale the The Wicker Man is about
a deeply religious Scottish policeman, Sergeant Howie (Edward
Woodward), who lands on a remote island to investigate a young
girl's disappearance.
Initially the islanders seem to be giving him the run-around,
but Howie refuses to be deterred and pursues his enquiries
with vigour.
There is something not right happening, but he can't quite
put his finger on it - although he is appalled by the non-Christian
religion being practised on Summerisle.
To his eyes the Spring rites and goings-on of the islanders
are disturbing, lewd and downright pagan as it seems everyone
is bonking their heads off - and in public.
But the upright copper is determined to find the girl and
his investigations lead him through a bizarre world into a
stunning and historic moment in movie history.
The lead actors - Woodward in particular - are marvellous
and both he and Lee rate the movie as their best work. However,
Lee's Saruman from Lord of the Rings may have since
equalled it.
Watch out for Australia's Dianne Cilento as the schoolteacher
and Britt Ekland's has never been more erotically charged
than as the temptress Willow. Her dance scene as she tries
to get Howie into bed is something to behold.
I have not watched the original release disc - the director's
cut with the additional scenes that make more sense of the
film is the only way to go in these eyes.
There is a good story about the extra scenes - the original
bits of the movie having been destroyed by idiot studio executives
- and so the ones appearing in the DVD are taken from a lower
quality copy sent to the US.
They are visually not as nice as the majority of the film,
which is very good and certainly the best version available
to fans, but are not as bad as I expected.
And they really boost the storyline by bringing in scenes
from the Scottish mainland where Howie's colleagues joke about
his religious zeal, give background to the island's religion
and one where a young lad loses his virginity as a pub full
of people sing a folk song Gently Johnny.
The music and songs - the tunes by Paul Giovanni using the
lyrics of Robbie Burns - add to the folksy, traditional feel
of the pre-Christian times.
The Wicker Man is a classic and while a little 1970s
in style, has more than enough originality and shock value
for viewers to get over that.
A must-see.
Conclusion: Movie 90% Extras 80%
Continued:
DVD details at a glance >
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